Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases Shares of 7,209 Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP invested approximately $514,000 in Sempra Energy, acquiring 7,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock, indicating significant interest from larger investment firms.
• Sempra Energy reported an earnings per share of $0.89 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 34,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,985,000 after buying an additional 2,696 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $528,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $397,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.99. 2,775,444 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,572,359. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The business's 50-day moving average price is $77.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.76. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.